Sewing machine



Oct. 24, 1950 EY 2,526,760

SEWING MACHINE Filed Nov. 20, 1948 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 inventor Lawrence Mawbey a I Byfi Atty/neg L. MAWB EY SEWING MACHINE Oct. 24, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 20, 1948 liwenior Lawrence Mawbc-y Oct. 24, 1950 MAWBEY 2,526,760

SEWING MACHINE Filed Nov. 20, 1948 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 &

Inventor Lawrence Mawbey By h-s;,At torney Oct. 24, 1950 L. MAWBEY 2,526,760

SEWING MACHINE Filed Nov. 20, 1948 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventor Lawr'en 09 Ma whey By Shis Atty/"nay Oct. 24, 1950 L. MAWBEY 2,526,760

SEWING MACHINE Filed Nov. 20, 1948 e Sheets-Sheet e inventor Lawrence Mawbey.

Patented Oct. 24, 1950 SEWING MACHINE Lawrence Mawbey, Leicester, England, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 20, 1948, Serial No. 61,149 In Great Britain December 10, 1947 27 Claims. 1

This invention is concerned with improvements in or relating to machines suitable for use in the manufacture of shoes and particularly to curved hooked needle chainstitch sewing machines organized for sewing together uppers and soles of turnshoes while supported on a shoe-entering horn or work support of the machine in which the work is fed by the needle and the needle is arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole. Examples of such machines are disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,180,423, granted November 21, 1939 upon application of Rowland A. Lineham and Frank Barton and No. 2,229,444, granted January 21, 1941 upon application of Harold E. Elliott.

Each of the machines disclosed in the patents noted has a horn-controlling mechanism for causing the horn or work support (hereinafter referred to as a horn) to be moved downwardly once in each sewing cycle of the machine while the work is being fed by the needle, and to be raised to hold the work against a sole-engaging foot while each stitch is being formed and set.

In the machine disclosed in Patent No. 2,180,423 the horn-controlling mechanism includes a spring which, when the horn is pressing the work against the sole-engaging foot, is compressed by the mechanism to a greater or less extent and, in the mechanism disclosed in Patent No. 2,229,444, the

horn has mounted within it a spring which similarly becomes compressed by the mechanism as the horn presses the work against the soleengaging foot. With such arrangements if a work piece being sewn varies in thickness, or in compressibility, from place to place during work feed, the amount of compression of the spring will vary with the variation in the work compressibility or thickness. Also, when the horn mechanism operates to lower the horn a further variable fraction of the usual distance the horn lowering action of said mechanism will be wasted to that extent during re-expansion of the spring which must occur before the horn lowering movement begins. As the amount of expansion of the spring necessarily varies with the thickness of the work, the distance the horn is lowered also will vary from place to place along the work and in some instances with thick work the lowering distance may not be suflicient to allow the work to be fed freely over the horn. As a result of insufiicient lowering movement of the horn, the needle is likely to be bent or broken if the work is sumciently impeded.

The machines of the patents above identified are intended for sewing around the overlapping marginal portions of a shoe upper and sole, and frequently the heel portion of the sole is substantially thicker than the forepart portion. If the lowering movement of the shoe entering horn is made sufiicient to enable free feeding movement to be imparted to the work during the increase in thickness of the sole from a forepart portion to a wedge heel portion then the lowering movement will be excessive while sewing the forepart portion of the sole so that it will engage the inside of the upper in an objectionable manner during its lowering movement. If the horn engages the shoe upper during its lowering movement, it is likely to cause displacement of the shoe from proper operating position, to strain the work and the needle engaging it and it is certain to add otherwise to the difiiculties met in presenting the shoe properly to the operating devices of the machine. Also with excessive lowering movement of the horn the operating parts of the mechanism for actuating it are subject to unusual strains resulting in undue Wear and vibration. Accordingly, it is desirable that excessive lowering movements of the horn required in operating upon shoes having exceptionally thick wedge heels be limited to those few sewing cycles only during which the transition of thickness takes place between the forepart and heel portions of the sole.

One of the various objects of the present invention is to provide improved means in a turnshoe sewing machine for clamping a work piece in each sewing cycle while a stitch is being formed in the work piece with a uniform clamping pressure and for releasing the work piece in accurate timed relation to the other stitch forming operations to allow it to be fed, thus ensuring that the work piece will, despite variations in thickness or compressibility, be released from the clamping action of said means sufficiently to allow the work piece to be fed freely at the requisite stage in each sewing cycle.

In the illustrated machine hereinafter described a mechanism for causing a work-supporting horn of the machine to be moved upwardly to clamp the work against a work-engaging foot of the machine and downwardly to release the work, is arranged for both automatic and operator controlled, independently variable adjustments while the machine is running to cause the horn to be lowered a predetermined variable distance from its heightwise position occupied when pressing the work against the work-engaging foot, irrespective of variations in its position resulting from variations in the thickness or compressibility of the work piece, thus enabling work to be sewn in which the thickness increases either at a rapid or at a slow rate. As will hereinafter become clear, the horn actuating mechanism of the illustrative machine is so arranged that the horn raising spring yields while lowering the horn and after the horn is lowered to release the work, the spring is retained against re-expansion until that stage is reached in the downward movement of the horn in which no adverse effect on feeding of the work is likely to be experienced by the re-expansion of the spring. Such an arrangement enables a reduc tion in the time required for the idle spring expanding movement of said mechanism and the use of a more accurately timed sequence of operations than with prior machines.

In the machines disclosed in the patents above noted, the horn raising spring is found sometimes to exert such a light pressure, particularly for thin work, that the horn and work piece are pressed downwardly away from the sole engaging foot by the needle in an undesirable manner as the needle enters the work. As a result of such downward movement, the needle does not enter as 'deeply into the work as it should, with the result that misformed stitches are inserted and occasionally the needle will not obtain a sufiicient hold on the work to insure work feed of the desired length. According to a further feature of the invention a lock is provided to prevent movement of the horn away from the foot while the needle is penetrating the work.

In order to operate the horn in clamping the work with a predetermined variable lowering movement irrespective of variations in thickness or compressibility of the work piece, according to an important feature of the invention, the mechanism for actuating the horn comprises an actuating cam lever, the look, a floating lever connected at one point to the horn, at a second point to the actuating cam lever and at a third point to the look. This feature of the invention includes the use of a second floating lever to which the first floating lever is connected, the second floating lever providing the operator controlled independently variable adjusting movement of the horn while the first floating lever provides automatically the uniform downward movement of the horn.

These and other features of the invention as hereinafter described and claimed will be apparent from the following detail specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of the upper portion of a machine embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a left-hand side elevation of the sewing head of the machine of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a right-hand side elevation partly in section, showing the horn actuating mechanism for the machine;

Fig. 4 is a detail view in right-hand side elevation of an adjusting treadle connection and treadle stop in the machine;

Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of the parts surrounding the sewing point of the machine;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of the work engaging foot taken along the line VI-VI in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a right-hand side elevation partly in section on an enlarged scale of a part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a simplified detail view in side elevation of the principal connections in the horn actuating mechanism;

Fig. 9 is a sectional plan view of the same mechanism;

Fig. 10 is a detail view on an enlarged scale illustrating the manner of operation of the improved machine;

Fig. 11 is a sectional detail view in front elevation of some of the connections in the horn actuating mechanism; and

Fig. 12 is a view in front elevation of one connection in the horn actuating mechanism.

Except as hereinafter described, the present machine is generally similar to that disclosed in the patents above identified, to which reference may be had for a more complete understanding. The machine comprises a curved hook needle I of relatively small radius arranged to pass through an upper while unsupported by a last and to enter and emerge from the same side of a sole, a work engaging foot 3 against which the work is clamped, an upper pressing claw 5, a pleater I and other stitch forming and work engaging devices acting to clamp the work in place. The inner surface of a shoe sole is engaged and supported by a shoe entering horn 9 instead of an external work support as disclosed in Patent No. 2,180,423. The horn 9 has at its upper end a circular work supporting tip formed with a flat upper work engaging surface H to press and clamp the sole against the foot 3. The horn is of generally 0 shape, similar in contour with that of the machine in Patent No. 2,229,444. At its lower end the horn has a vertical boss l3 in alinement with the vertical axis of the horn tip about which axis the horn is rotatable. To enable the horn to be rotated, the boss I3 is mounted on the upper end of a horn spindle l5 slidingly mounted in a vertical bore in the machine frame, indicated at I6. For actuating the horn vertically to press the sole against the foot and thereafter to release the sole, the spindle I5 has a curved recess H (see Figs. '7 and 8) through which passes a horizontal pin I9. Rotatably mounted on the pin is a rectangular block 2| engaged by the fork of a horn controlling lever 23. The horn controlling lever 23 is pivotally connected to the forward yoke-shaped end of a horn actuating lever 25 by a pin 21. The rearward end of the horn controlling lever 23 carries a pin 29 (see Figs. '7, 8 and 9) extending to the right from the lever. Surrounding the right end of the pin 29 is a rectangular block 3| opposite faces of which are engaged by the forked forward end of a horizontal arm on a bell crank 33 having a fulcrum shaft 35 secured in the machine frame.

To raise the horn toward the work engaging foot 3 a downwardly extending arm of the bell crank 33 has rotatably mounted therein a stem 31, one end of which is formed with a perforated lug through which projects a pin 39 secured to the rearward end of a sleeve 4|. The sleeve 4| is slidingly mounted at its forward end in an adj ustable screw threaded thumb wheel 43 engaging a threaded opening in the machine frame and is surrounded by the coils of a compression spring 45, the forward end of which engages the hub of the thumb wheel 43 and the rearward end of which engages the lug on the stem 31. To prevent displacement of the pin 39 from the lug in the stem 3! the rearward end of the pin carries a collar 46 secured to it. Rotation of the thumb wheel 43 increases or decreases the pressure of the spring 45, tending to move the bell plied to the horn raising spring during the raising movementof the horn. Before the horn can :belowered the stress applied to the spring during the horn raising movement must be released causing an idle movement of the cam lever varying with the thickness of the work. Similarly,

the horn raising movement occurs during the first part of a cam lever stroke and the spring is stressed a variable amount depending on the thickness of the work so that the clamping pressure of the horn on the sole varies. Also the time at which the horn clamps or releases the work varies correspondingly so that it is difficult to adjust the machine for varying thicknesses of work without affecting the timing of the machine adversely. The machine disclosed in Patent No. 2,229,444 is provided with operator controlled adjustable means to vary the lowering and raising movement of the horn while the machine is in operation but the use of such adjustable means does not overcome the difficulties encountered in clamping the work as a result of imparting a variable stress to the horn raising spring with variations in thickness of the work.

Referring more particularl to Fig. 10, the present machine is illustrated as operating upon a turnshoe having a relatively high wedge heel in comparison with the thickness of the sole forepart. The sole of the shoe is indicated at 4? and the horn 9 is shown in operating position withi the shoe toe. While the machine is operating about the toe it is necessary to impart a relatively short lowering movement to the horn, otherwise the shoe upper 49 will be displaced from proper sewing position by engagement with the undersurface of the horn. As the sewing point approaches the heel portion of the sole the portion 59 of rapidly increasing thickness necessitates a much greater lowering movement to prevent the feed of the shoe from being obstructed. In the machine of the patent No. 2,229,444 it is possible to increase this horn lowering movement under the control of the operator but difficulty is still encountered from improper clamping pressures being exerted on the sole by the horn and from variations in times of engagement of the horn with the shoe sole. These difiiculties are caused by the inability of an operator to follow the movements of the sewing point along the increasing thickness portion with sufficient accuracy to produce uniform clamping pressures and to cause the horn to engage the sole uniformly at the same time during each sewing cycle. These difiiculties are accentuated by the fact that the portion 50 of increasing thickness is not readily visible to the operator in sewing a turnshoe of this type, the portion 58 being hidden inside the shoe. The only alternative in the oporation of the patened machine is for the operator to increase the downward movement of the horn a substantial distance before the portion a is reached and to hold the adjustment in a position for increased horn lowering movement until it is certain that the heel portion is passed.

One feature of the present invention relates to an arrangement of adjustable connections in the horn actuating mechanism in which the horn is lowered automatically a predetermined uniform distance from the foot 3 and is raised to clamp the sole of a shoe against the work engaging foot 3 during a partial release of the stress in the spring 45 so that a uniform work clamping pressure is applied by the horn to the shoe sole accurately at a predetermined time in each sewing cycle and after which movement of the horn away from clamping engagement with the shoe soleis prevented by a lock comprising a device connected to the rearward end of the controlling lever 23, the lever 23 fulcruming about the pivot pin 2! connecting it to the horn actuating lever 25. The needle then penetrates the upper and sole against the unyielding action of the locked horn. 7

To lower the horn from the work engaging foot 3 a uniform distance regardless of the thickness of the work so that the shoe sole may be moved a stitch length with certainty during each sewing cycle, the spring 45 is compressed instead of having its stress released as in the patented machines. The spring is then retained in yielded position until after the shoe is fed. At the time the horn is again raised the lock is released and the spring again expands to release its compressional stress. The spring, having been com-- pressed an unvarying amount in releasing the work, exerts a uniform pressure on the sole in expanding to cause the sole to be clamped. For this purpose the horn controlling lever 23 is arranged to fulcrum about either of the pivot pins 21 or 29, the pin 2? being operatively connected to a cam lever, to be referred to hereinafter. The lever 23 thus acts as a floating lever without a single fulcrum.

The lock device is connected to the pin 29 through a link 5i also pivotally connected to a vertical locking rod 53 slidingly mounted in two bosses 55, 5'! on the machine frame. The lower boss 51 has rotatably mounted in it an eccentric spindle 59, the eccentric portion of which is ar ranged to engage the rod 53. The right end of the spindle 59 has secured to it a rearwardly inclined arm 6| within a forked upper end of which passes a stud 53 having a diametrical threaded opening. The opening of the stud 63 carries the threaded end of a rod 65 pivotally connected between the forked ends of an arm on a lock controlling lever 61 fulcrumed on a fixed pivot 6'9. An upwardly extending arm of the lock controlling lever 6! is connected to one end of a link H (see Fig. 3), the other end of which is connected to a lock actuating lever 3. The lock actuating lever is fulcrumed at 15 and is provided with a cam roll l1 engaging the outer surface of a cam 19 carried by a main sewing shaft 8!, the roll being yieldingly held against the cam by a tension spring 83 connected to the cam lever and to the machine frame.

To assist in a secure locking engagement between the locking rod 53 and the eccentric por tion of the spindle 59 the forward face of the rod which is engaged by the eccentric portion is disposed at a small angle to the opposite face of the rod with the thinner portion of the rod at the upper end. When the spindle is turned to engage its eccentric portion with the rod any force acting to raise the rod tends to cause an increasing grip to be obtained by a wedging action as the upward force on the rod is increased.

To act as a stop in limiting the movement of the floating lever 23 when the lock is' unlocked, the upper end of the locking rod 53 has on it a pair of check nuts 84 arranged to engage a collar 85 resting on the machine frame I6 in surrounding relation to the rod 53. When the eccentric portion of the spindle 59 is disengaged from the locking rod during operation of the machine the spring 45 acts through the bell crank 33 to lower the pin 29, causing the horn controlling lever to be rotated about the pin 21 in a clockwise direction and raising the horn to clamp the work. After clamping the work the lock maintains the horn in raised position during the insertion of a stitch. The horn is then lowered and the parts operated upon are moved along the line of feed the distance of a stitch length.

To lower the horn from work clamping position the rearward end of the horn actuating lever 25 is pivotally connected through adjustable connections including a pin 86 passing between a pair of parallel links 81 having between their upper ends a block 89 through which passes a pivot 9 I. The block 89 is slidingly mounted in an arcuate slot of a measuring arm 93 mounted on a shaft 95 secured in the machine frame I6 so that the effective length of the arm may be changed with corresponding change in the uniform horn lowering movement. For actuating the measuring arm, its forward end is pivotally connected to a vertical link 91 to transmit motion from the cam lever, indicated at 99, similarly connected to the link. The actuating cam lever 99 is fulcrumed on the machine frame at IOI (see Fig. 3) and carries a cam roll I03 engaging a cam on the cam shaft 8|.

The adjustable connections including the measuring arm 93, the links 87, the horn actuating lever 25 and the horn controlling lever 23 are so arranged that the horn not only will be lowered automatically a uniform distance regardless of the thickness of the work, but also the distance through which the horn is lowered from the work engaging foot may be varied under the control of the operator a predetermined amount in accordance with the rate at which the thickness of the sole changes from one stitch to another, particularly while sewing the wedge portion 50 of a heel, as illustrated in Fig. 10.? Automatically lowering the horn a uniform distance regardless of the thickness of the work and causing the spring 45 to expand while clamping the work, instead of being compressed or stressed as in the machine of the patents during clamping, insures the application of a uniform clamping pressure on the sole during each sewing cycle of the machine. The curvature of the slot in the measuring arm is made concentric to the pin 85 when the horn is in work clamping position so that the time in each sewing cycle at which the work is unclamped may be predetermined with accuracy and the other operations of the machine including stitch formation and work manipulation may be performed more successfully and with better time coordination than with the patented machines in spite of a change in horn lowering movement.

To vary the uniform distance through which the horn is lowered from the work engaging foot 3 with the rate at which the insole increases in thickness during sewing operations in this feature of the invention, the central portions of the links 81 have pivotally connected between them a' rod I05, in turn pivotally connected to the vertical arm of a bell crank I07 secured to one end of a shaft I89 rotatable in fixed bearings.- A horizontal arm of the bell crank I! is connected to a treadle actuated rod III. The shaft I09 also has secured to its end outside the machine frame opposite the bell crank I01, an upwardly extending arm H3 (see Fig. 4) arranged to engage one of two pins I I5 disposed in a curved series of holes II! in a plate II9 secured to the machine frame. Connected to the vertical arm of the bell crank I0! is a tension spring I2I in turn made fast to the machine frame. The tension spring I 2| holds the arm H3 against the rear pin H5, in which position of the arm, the treadle actuated connections swing the links 81 toward the shaft 95 about which the measuring arm 93 rocks so that a minimum movement will be imparted to the horn in lowering it from the work engaging foot 3 to release the work. The locations of the pins I I5 in the holes II'I may be determined by experience but in general the rear pin I I5 is located at the rearmost hole I I! while the forward pin is disposed in a hole determined by the particular inclination of the sole wedge portion 50 of increasing thickness.

To enable the horn to be lowered sufliciently to release the shoe for replacement with a new shoe without disturbing the relationship of the other connections in the horn actuating mechanism, the lever 25 also acts as a floating lever so that neither levers 23 nor 25 have a single fulcrum. The lever 25 is formed with two laterally spaced lugs including the forward portion in which the pin 2'! is mounted (see Fig. 9) and those in which a pair of longitudinally spaced pivots I23 are secured in the mid portion of the lever 25. Each pivot I23 carries a roll I25 engaging two-position open cam faces on an arm I21 and an arm of a lever I29, both of which are secured to a horizontal shaft I3! rotatably mounted in the machine frame. The right end of the shaft I3I has fastened to it outside of the machine frame an arm I33 to which is connected a treadle actuated rod I35 (see Figs. 1 and 9). During sewing operations the high part of the cam faces on both the arm i2! and the cam lever I29 are in engagement with the cam rolls I25, the treadle actuated rod I35 being connected with the starting treadle for the machine to raise the horn before the machine begins to operate. At the end of a sewing operation the cam faces on the arm I21 and lever I29 are moved to cause the rolls to engage their lower portions, causing the lever 25 to fulcrum about the pin so that the floating lever 23 is moved downwardly to release the work. During the time when the machine is being stopped the eccentric spindle 59 is disengaged from the locking rod 53 so that the floating lever 23 is moved bodily in a downward direction. While the lever 23 is moving downwardly, both the horn and the locking bar are carried with it until the check nuts 84 at the upper end of the rod engage the collar 85. As soon as the check nuts engage the collar 85 the floating lever 23 begins to fulcrum about the pin 29, causing the horn to move downwardly at a more rapid rate.

To press the rolls I25 into engagement with the cam faces on the arm I21 and lever I29 and to prevent lengthwise movement of both floating levers 23 and 25, pivots I23 pass through the horizontal arms of a pair of similar bell cranks I3! and I39, the vertical arms of which have connected with them a pair of horizontal tension springs I4I stretched between the arms and the machine frame. The horizontal arms of the bell cranks I31, I39 act as guide arms for the floating levers, being connected through the 4 pivots I23 to the mid-portion of the lever 25.

Accordingly, the pivots I23 swing about the fulcrum shaft 35 on which the bell cranks I31, I39 are mounted. It is to be noted that the bell cranks 33, I31 and I39 are fulcrumed concentrically but that the vertical arms of the bell cranks extend in opposite directions from the fulcrum shaft 35, the vertical arms of the bell cranks I31, I39 extending upwardly and the vertical arm of the bell crank 33 extending downwardly from the fulcrum shaft 35. However, the horizontal arm of bell crank 33 is operatively connected to the floating lever 23 through a sliding joint comprising the forked arm of bell crank 33 and block 3| so that relative movement of the lever 23 in a lengthwise direction is not obstructed as a result of the swinging movement of the pivots I23 about the shaft 35. In a similar manner free relative lengthwise movement is permitted in the floating lever 23 as a result of its manner of operative connection with the horn spindle through a sliding joint comprising the fork of lever 23 and block 2|, the locking rod 53 being also connected through the links to avoid obstruction of the lengthwise movement in pin 29.

In order to unlock the lock comprising the locking rod 53 and the eccentric portion of the spindle 59 in stopping the machine, the lever I29 has an arm extending rearwardly from the shaft I3I which is pivotally connected with a vertical cam bar I43, the upper end of which is slidingly mounted between a flanged roll I45 and a cam roll I41 carried by the link 1I. When the cam bar I43 is moved into its lowered position as shown in Figs. 3 and '1 a cam face I49 on the bar acts on the roll I41 to cause the eccentric spindle 59 to release the locking rod 53. When the cam bar I43 is raised in starting the machine, the roll I41 is allowed to move rearwardly, enabling the eccentric spindle 59 again to engage the locking rod.

To disengage the pleater 1 from a shoe at the end of a sewing operation so that the shoe may readily be removed and replaced with an unsewn shoe, the cam bar I43 has disposed below the cam face I49 a pleater controlling cam face I5I engaged by a roll I 53 on the lower end of a lever I55. The lever I55 is mounted on the pivot 69 and is connected at its upper end through a link I51 to a pleater actuating lever I59 corresponding to the lever 213 in Patent No. 2,180,423. The cam lever I59 is connected to the pleater in a manner similar to that in the patent just referred to. When the cam bar I43 is in its lowered position the lower cam face I5I holds the pleater out of the way against the action of a tension spring similar to the spring 2I9 in that patent. To insure that the cam bar will be retained in a position to unlock the lock and disable the pleater, the lever I29 has a forwardly extending arm provided with a lug I6I arranged to engage a face of the machine frame I6. To secure the lug in engagement with the machine frame while the machine is stopped and the treadle actuated rod I35 is released, the lever I29 is acted upon by the lower end of a spring I93, the upper end of which is made fast to the machine frame.

When the machine is in its stopped position the cam rolls I25 on the horn actuating lever 25 will be in engagement with the low portions of the cam faces on the treadle operated cam arm I21 and lever I29. The horn will be in a lowered position so that a work piece may be positioned thereon and the nuts 84 on the locking rod 53 will be in engagement withthe collar 85, the lock 10 being held open. The pleater will be in a rearward inoperative position and the parts will be held in these positions.

After a work piece has been positioned on the horn the operator depresses the treadle rod I35 and the cam arm I21 and lever I29 raise the rolls I25 on the floating horn actuating lever 25 about the pivot 35 of their supporting bell crank I39. During the upward movement of the cam rolls I25 the rear end of the horn actuating lever 25 is held stationary by the links 81 from moving upwardly and therefore the front end of the horn actuating lever 25 moves upwardly and carries with it the pin 2? in the horn controlling lever 23. The rear end of the horn controlling lever 23 is held against movement upwardly by the spring 45 which acts upon the bell crank 33, which being connected to the horn controlling lever 23, is holding the nuts 84 on the locking rod 53 against the collar 85. The front end, therefore, of the horn controlling lever 23 is moved upwardly and raises the horn until the work on the horn engages the work engaging foot. During further upward movement of the cam rolls i25 after the work has been moved into engagement with the foot, the rear end of the lever 23 moves upwardly about its connection at its front end with the horn spindle I5. The locking rod 53 is thus moved upwardly and the spring 45 is compressed. The horn is therefore caused yieldingly to clamp the work up against the work engaging foot 3 and to accommodate itself before the machine starts to the thickness of the work without any manual adjustment of the horn by the operator. The distance the locking rod 53 is moved upwardly and the amount of compression of the compression spring 45 will depend upon the thickness of the work and its compressibility. This condition exists only as the machine is being started however.

The cam rolls I25 on the horn actuating lever 25 will now have reached the high portions of the cam faces on cam arm I21 and lever I29, which portions are concentric to the shaft I3I,

' and as the treadle is further depressed the cam bar I43 which has been idly moving upwardly during the depression of the treadle rod I35 is moved up still further. During this further upward movement of the bar I43 the cam faces I49, I5I thereon cause the lever 61 to be moved by its spring 83 in a direction to turn the eccentric spindle 59 against the locking rod 53 and the pleater 1 is moved forwardly into operative position. Still further downward movement of the treadle causes a clutch of the machine to be closed and. the machine to start operations, the machine continuing to operate until the treadl rod I35 is released.

When the machine starts, the needle, which is in its rearward position and in an extreme back feeding position along the line of feed, moves forwardly to penetrate the work. Just after the needle has reached its full work penetrating position the horn is lowered to allow the needle to feed the work.

The horn is lowered by upward movement of the cam lever 99 which causes the measuring arm 93 to swing upwardly. As the measuring arm 93 swings upwardly the links 81 cause the rear end of the floating lever 25 to swing upwardly and its front end to swing downwardly, the cam rolls I25 on lever 25 being held against the high parts of the cam faces on the arm I21 and lever I29 by the springs I4I. The rear end of the floating horn controlling lever 23 which is connected to the locking rod 53 is at this time in the machine cycle locked against upward movement and therefore as the front end of the lever is moved down the front end of the lever 23 is also moved down and the horn is lowered. The distance through which the horn is lowered depends upon the position of the block 89 along the curved slot in the measuring arm 93. When the needle reaches the end of its work feeding movement the lock is opened and the spring causes the lever 23 to swing about its pivot pin 21 connecting it with the front end of lever 25, to raise the horn into engagement with the Work and possibly to cause the rear end of lever 23 and the locking rod 53 to be lowered.

At about the same time the lock is released from the rod 53 the cam lever 99 commences to move the measuring arm 93 downwardly. Down-- ward movement of the measuring arm causes the rear end of lever 25 to move downwardly and its front end to move upwardly, the lever 25 being supported by the engagement of the cam rolls I31 with the high parts of the cam faces engaged thereby. Since the horn has been pressed by the spring 45 toward the foot 3, rising of the front end of the horn controlling lever 23 is resisted and therefore the rear end of the lever 23 rises and moves the locking rod 53 upwardly. Just after the locking rod 53 is moved upwardly the lock is closed and remains closed until in the next cycle it is again unlocked to allow the spring 45 again to raise the horn into engagement with the work.

If a portion of the work increases suddenly in thickness, for example, if a leather sole having a heel is being sewn to an upper, the distance the horn is moved downwardly when operating upon the thinner portion may not be sufficient to allow the thicker portion to pass between the horn and the foot.

To cause the horn to be lowered sufficiently to enable the thicker portion of the work to pass on to the horn the operator depresses the treadle rod II I by which the rod I05 moves the block forwardly in the slot of the measuring arm 93. During the next cycle of the machine before the work is fed the horn will be moved down a greater distance determined by the location of the forward pin I I5 to allow the thicker portion of the work piece to be fed past the horn. The operator then releases the treadle rod III and the horn, during the next cycle of the machine, is moved down the same predetermined distance as it was when the thinner portion of the work piece was being operated upon. When the thicker portion of the work piece passes from over the horn the spring 45 will raise the horn into engagement with the thinner portion and during further Operation of the machine on the thinner portion the horn will be lowered, to allow the work piece to be fed, the same predetermined distance as it was when the machine was operating on the previous thinner portion and on the thicker portion.

When the illustrative machine is operating on very soft material, such as a soft rubber sole, the needle and thread carried thereby are apt to cause the material at the rear of the point of engagement of the needle with the work to bunch up in an undesirable manner as the threaded needle is retracted.

To overcome this difiiculty, the work engaging foot 3 (Figs. 5 and 6) of the illustrative machine, besides engaging the work at the right-hand side and front of the needle as disclosed in the noted prior patents, has a portion I65 extending in the direction of work feed and lying close behind the needle when the needle penetrates the upper face of the sole. Another portion I51 of the foot extends forwardly from the left-hand end of the portion I65 and joins the part of the foot which engages the work at the front of the needle. There is thus provided a rectangular opening I69 in the foot through which the needle point emerges and which is sufficiently long, considered in the direction of work feed, to allow the needle to feed the work. The rectangular opening I69 lies above the upper face of the horn tip surface I I and is somewhat smaller than the tip surface so that the work is held securely on the horn and the portion of the foot which lies just behind the needle when it is projecting through th sole prevents the sole from bulging upwardly as the needle withdraws through the work. The foot has on its work engaging underface teeth I'll similar to those described in Patent No. 2,180,423 to resist the forces on the work exerted during the retracting stroke of the needle.

The horn controlling lever 25, horn actuating lever 23 and connections associated therewith for actuating and locking the horn lie in the machine at a lower level than th horn and rearwardly thereof. These parts are enclosed in a conveniently arranged box-like casting I 13 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 9) forming part of the machine frame I6 in a front portion I15 of which secured by screws 511 the horn spindle is slidingly mounted. The casting encloses the parts at the front, sides and rear thereof and shields them from dust or dirt and prevents oil from being thrown by the parts, when the machine is in operation, on to the work or the operator of the machine.

In the illustrated form of the machine, the boxlike casting I13 has pivoted on it at I19 behind the horn and in front of a portion of the frame which extends upwardly from the casting and which supports stitch-forming and work-feeding mechanisms on the upper portion of the machine, a downwardly inclined lid I8I which may be raised upwardly about its pivot to expose the connections and parts of the horn actuating and locking mechanisms lying beneath it. This lid further protects the parts and operator and prevents work or other articles from falling into the mechanism in the box-like casting.

The mechanism on the head of the illustrative machine is, to a large extent, shrouded by a head cover which prevents oil from being thrown by the mechanism on to the work or the operator and shields the mechanism from dust. The head cover comprises a substantially vertical portion I83 (Fig. 2) at the rear of the head which is secured to the upper face of the box-like casting I13. The vertical portion has extending forwardly from it side portions I85. which, as far as is convenient, shroud sides of the head. The rear portion extends forwardly over the top of the head and has hinged to it by horizontal pointed screws I81 extending laterally of the machine, an apron I89 which curves forwardly and downwardly in front of some of the parts of the machine at the front of the head. This apron I89 extends downwardly as far as is conveniently possible without interfering with the presentation of, or operation on, a work piece and without obstructing the View of, the operator of the work at the sewing point. The right-hand side of the apron extends rearwardly so as to shroud, as far as possible, the mechanism at the right of the machine head. At the left of the apron is a left-- hand portion I9l of the head cover. The lefthand portion has a front part which forms a continuation, towards the left of the machine, of the apron Q89, the adjacent edges of the apron and the left-hand portion l9! being in contact with each other. The left-hand portion is secured to the head of the machin and has a wall extending rearwardly as far as is convenient at the left of the head. V

The head cover therefore, shrouds the upper portion of the head of the machine at the rear sides and front and the apron E89 may be swung upwardly and rearwardly to enable the parts shielded by it readily to be reached for oiling or other purposes, the apron normally merely hanging downwardly. The rear portion has in it an opening which is covered by a cover plate which may readily be removed to enable parts at the rear of the machine to be exposed.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and a specific embodiment having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, and a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, in combination with automatically adjustable mechanism acting during each sewing cycle to lower the horn a predetermined distance from the foot regardless of the thickness of the sole constructed and arranged with separately adjustable connections to enable variation during sewing in the distance through which the horn is lowered from the foot in accordance with the rate of change in sole thickness.

2. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and automatic mechanism acting during each sewing cycle to lower the horn from the foot a uniform distance regardless of the thickness of the sole, in combination with separately adjustable connections in said horn lowering mechanism to enable varying the distance through which the horn is moved away from the foot in accordance with the rate at which the sole increases in thickness.

3. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming devices including a work feeding needlerarranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole sup.

porting horn extending within the shoe, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, mechanism acting during each stitch forming cycle to lower the horn from the foot, and a spring acting to raise the horn toward the foot, in combination with connections in said horn lowering mechanism for causing the 4. A'machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming de-' vices including a work feeding needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn,-mechanism acting during each stitch forming cycle to lower the horn from the foot, and a spring acting to raise the horn toward the foot, in combination with a lock to prevent movement of the-horn away from the foot whilethe needle is penetrating the work, and connec-.

tions in the horn lowering mechanism for causing the spring to yield when the horn is moved away from the foot and to be retained in yielde position until the lock is released.

5. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, a sole engaging footagainst which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism acting during each sewing cycle to lower the horn from the foot a uniform distance regardlessof the thickness of the sole, in combination with adjustable connections in said horn lowering mechanism comprising a cam lever, a look, a floating lever operatively connected at one point to the horn, at a second point to the cam lever and at a third point to the lock.

6. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming de- 5' vices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, a spindle to which the.

horn is secured, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism for actuating the horn including a cam lever and a lock, in combination with connections in said mechanism comprising a floating lever operatively connected at one point to the horn spindle, at another point to the lock and ata third point to the cam lever.

'7. A machinefor sewing together a shoe sole, and the overlapping margin of an upper while.

unsupported on a last as in claim 6, in which the.

cam lever is connected to the floating lever be-.

tween the points to which the horn spindle and the lock are connected.

8. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while:

unsupported on a last as inclaim '7, in which a the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn exspring to yield when thehorn is moved away from the foot and to be retained in yielded position until after the work is fed, including a lock to prevent movement of the horn away from the foot while the needle is penetrating the work.

tending within the shoe, a spindle to which the horn is secured, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism for actuating the horn including a cam lever and a lock, in combination with connec-'" tions in said mechanism comprising a floating lever operatively connected at one 'point'to the horn spindle, at another point to the lock and.

at a third point to the cam lever, and a second floating lever to which one of the points of the first mentioned floating lever is connected to enable the horn to be lowered without disturbing the relationship of the other connections of said mechanism.

10. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supportin horn extending within the shoe, a spindle to which the horn is secured, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism for actuating the horn including a cam lever and a lock, in combination with connections in said mechanism comprising a floating lever operatively connected at one point to the horn spindle, at another point to the lock and at a third point to the cam lever, a second floatin lever on which the first mentioned floating lever is mounted, and joints between the first mentioned floating lever and the horn spindle and lock movable in a direction generally lengthwise of said floating levers.

11. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch formin devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, a spindle to which the horn is secured, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism for actuating the horn including a cam lever and a lock, in combination with connections in said mechanism comprising a floating lever operatively connected at one point to the horn spindle, at another point to the lock and at a third point to the cam lever, a second floating lever on which the first mentioned floating lever is mounted, joints between the first mentioned floating lever and the horn spindle and lock movable in a direction generally lengthwise of said floating levers, and a shiftable cam for supporting the second floating lever in either of two positions, with the horn spindle raised and with the horn spindle lowered sufficiently to enable work to be introduced into the machine.

12. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while 16 unsupported on a last, having stitch forming de vices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, a spindle to which the horn is secured, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism for actuating the horn including a cam lever and a lock, in combination with connecunsupported on a last, havin stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supportin horn extending within the shoe, a spindle to which the horn 'is secured, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism for actuatin the horn including a cam lever and a lock, in combination with connections in said mechanism comprising a floating lever operatively connected at one point to the horn spindle, at another point to the lock and at a third point to the cam lever, a second floating lever on which the first mentioned floating lever is mounted, joints between the first mentioned floating lever and the horn spindle and lock movable in a direction generally lengthwise of said floating levers, and an arm fulcrumed on a fixed pivot connected to the second mentioned floating lever to guide the movements of both floating levers. V

13. A machine for sewing together a shoe sol and the overlapping margin of an upper while tions in said mechanism comprising a floating lever operatively connected at one point to the horn spindle and at another point to the lock, a second floating lever connected at one point thereon with the cam lever and at another point with a third point on the first-mentioned floating lever, a spring actuated bell crank connected to a third point on the second floating lever, a roll rotatably mounted on the second-mentioned floating lever at the point of connection of said lever with the spring actuated bell crank, and a shiftable two-position cam against which the spring actuated bell crank presses the roll on the second-mentioned floating lever for supporting the roll against the force of the spring actuated bell crank either with the horn raised or lowered.

14. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, a spindle to which the horn is secured, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism for actuating the horn including a cam lever and a lock, in combination with connections in said mechanism comprising a floating lever operatively connected at one point to the horn spindle, at another point to the lock and at a third point to the cam lever, a second floating lever on which the first mentioned floating lever is mounted, joints between the first mentioned floating lever and the horn spindle and lock movable in a direction generally lengthwise of said floating levers, a shiftable cam for supporting the second floating lever in either of two positions, with the horn spindle raised and with the horn spindle lowered sufficiently to enable work to be introduced into the machine, and a connection between the two-position cam and lock for unlockin the lock when the cam is shifted to lower the horn.

15. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, a spindle to which the horn is secured, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism for actuating the horn including a cam lever and a lock, in combination with connections in said mechanism comprising a floating lever operatively connected at one point to the horn spindle, at another point to the lock and at a third'point-to the cam lever, a second floatin lever on which the first mentioned floating lever is mounted, joints between the first mentioned floating lever and the horn spindle and lock movable in a direction generally lengthwise of said floating levers, a shiftable cam for supporting the second floating lever in either of two positions, with the horn spindle raised and with the horn spindle lowered sufficiently to enable 'the movement "of theflrst'mentioned floating lever when the lock is unlocked.

16. A machine forsewingtogether a'shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, havingstitch forming devices including a work feeding needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole'supporting horn extending within the shoe, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, mechanism acting during each stitch forming cycle to lower the horn from the foot, and a spring acting to raise the horn toward the foot, in combination with connections in said horn lowering mechanism for causing the spring to yield when the horn is moved away from the foot and to be retained in yielded position until after the work is fed comprising a floating lever connected at one point thereon to the horn, at another point to the lock and spring, a second floating lever connected to a third point on the first mentioned floating lever, and a guide arm connected to the second mentioned floating lever for preventing lengthwise movement of both floating levers.

1.7. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism acting during each sewing cycle to lower the horn from the foot a uniform distance regardless of the thickness of the sole, in combination with adjustable connections in said horn lowering mechanism comprising an actuating lever, a lock, 2. floating lever connected at one point to the horn, at a second point to the actuating lever and at a third point to the look, a cam roll connected to the floating lever, a twoposition open face cam engaged by the cam roll for shiftin the floating lever from one position to another to raise or lower the horn while the machine is stopped, and yielding means for pressing the cam roll against the open cam.

18. A machine for sewing together a. shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last, having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn, and mechanism acting during each sewing cycle to lower the horn from the foot a uniform distance regardless of the thickness of the sole, in combination with adjustable connections in said horn lowering mechanism comprising an actuating lever, a look, a floating lever connected at one point to the horn, at a second point to the actuating lever and at a third point to the lock, a second floating lever between the actuating lever and the first mentioned floating lever, a cam roll on the second mentioned floating lever, an open face cam engaged by the cam roll for shifting the first mentioned floating lever from one position to another to raise or lower the horn while the machine is stopped, and a spring act- 'ing on the second "mentioned floating 'lever' to press'the CBilll'IOll against the open face cam.

19. A-Inachine for sewingtogether ashoe sole and the-overlapping margin of an upperwhile unsupported on alast, having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper andenter and emerge from the same surface of the sole,- a sole supporting hornextending within the shoe, a sole engaging foot and mechanism acting during each sewing cycle "to lower the-horn from the foot a uniform disagainstwhich the soleispressed by the horn,

tance regardless of the thickness of the sole, in

"combination with adjustable connections in said horn lowering mechanism comprising an actuating lever, a lock, a floating lever connected at one-point to'the horn, at a second point to the actuating lever and at a third point to the look, a second floating lever between the actuating lever and the first mentioned floating lever, a cam roll on the second mentioned floating lever, an open face cam engaged by the cam roll for shifting the first mentioned floating lever from one position to another to raise or lower the horn while the machine is stopped, a bell crank fulcrumed on the machine frame and connected at on end to the second mentioned floating lever,

and a spring connected to the bell crank topress the cam roll against the open face cam.

A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported 0n alast, having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a solesupporting horn extending within the shoe, a sole engaging foot against which the sole is pressed by the horn,

and mechanism acting during each sewing cycle to lower the horn from the foot a uniform distance regardless of the thickness of the sole, in combination with adjustable connections in said horn lowering mechanism comprising an actua g cam lever, a look, a floating lever comiected one point to the horn, at a second point to tie actuating cam lever and at a third point to thelock, a second floating lever between the actuating cam lever and the first mentioned lever, a cam roll on the second 1 mentioned floating lever, an open face cam engaged bythe cam roll for shifting the first mentioned,

floatinglever from one position to another to raise or lower the horn while the machine is concentrically with the first mentioned bell crank and pivotally connected to the first mentioned floating lever, and a horn raising spring acting on the flrstmentioned floating lever through the second mentioned bell crank.

21. A shoe sewing machine having stitch forming devices including a needle, shoe clamping means and mechanism for actuating the clamping means including an actuating cam lever and a lock, in combination with connections in said mechanism comprising two floating levers, one connected to the other with different points in said levers connected respectively to the horn, the lock and the actuating cam lever, a roll carried by one of the floating levers, a two-position face cam engaging the roll to clamp or release the work from the clampin means, and two springs one of which is operatively connected to one floating lever to cause the work to be clamped by the clamping means and the other of which is operatively connected to the other lever to cause the roll to be maintained in engagement with the two-position face cam.

22. A shoe sewing machine having stitch forming devices including a needle, shoe clamping means and mechanism for actuating the clamping means including an actuating cam lever and a lock, in combination with connections in said mechanism comprising two floating levers, one connected to the other with different points in said levers connected respectively to the horn, the lock and the actuating cam lever, a roll carried by one of the floating levers, a two-position face cam engaging the roll to clamp or release the work from the clamping means, two springs,

one of which is operatively connected to one floating lever to cause the work to be clamped by the clamping means and the other of which is operatively connected to the other lever to cause the roll to be maintained in engagement with the two-position face cam, and means for adjusting the force of the spring which causes the work to be clamped.

23. A shoe sewing machine having stitch forming devices including a needle, shoe clamping means and mechanism for actuating the clamping means including an actuating cam lever and a lock, in combination with connections in said mechanism comprising two floating levers, one connected to the other with different points in said levers connected respectively to the horn, the lock and the actuating cam 1ever,.a roll carried by one of the floating levers, a two-position face cam engaging the roll to clamp or release the work from the clamping means, and two springs, one of which is of the compression type and is operatively connected to one floating lever to cause the work to be clamped and the other of which is of the tension type and is operatively connected to the other floating lever.

24. A shoe sewing machine having stitch forming devices including a needle, shoe clamping means and mechanism for actuating the clamping means including an actuating cam lever and a lock, in combination with connections in said mechanism comprising two floating levers, one connected to the other with different points in said levers connected respectively to the horn, the lock and the actuating cam lever, a roll carried by one of the floating levers, a two-position face cam engaging the roll to clamp or release the work from the clamping means, two springs.

one of which is of the compression type and is operatively connected to one floating lever to cause the work to be clamped and the other of which is of the tension type and is operatively connected to the other floating lever, and a lock connected to one of the floating levers at the point acted upon by the compression spring.

25. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, and a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, in combination with a sole engaging foot formed with teeth on its work engaging face to resist the forces on the work exerted during the retracting stroke of the needle, and with a rectangular opening through which the point of the needle emerges.

26. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, connections for actuating the horn disposed at a lower level than the horn rearwardly of the machine from the horn, and a box-like frame at the front portion of which the horn is slidingly mounted for vertical movement and the front sides and rear of which enclose the horn actuating connections, in combination with a downwardly inclined lid pivoted to the frame behind the horn and arranged to be raised to expose the horn actuating connections.

27. A machine for sewing together a shoe sole and the overlapping margin of an upper while unsupported on a last having stitch forming devices including a needle arranged to pass through the upper and enter and emerge from the same surface of the sole, a sole supporting horn extending within the shoe, connections for a-ctuating the horn disposed at a lower level than the horn rearwardly of the machine from the horn, and a box-like frame at the front portion of which the horn is slidingly mounted for vertical movement and the front sides and rear of which enclose the horn actuating connections, in combination with a downwardly inclined lid pivoted to the frame behind the horn and arranged to be raised to expose the horn actuating connections, a head cover secured to the box-like frame shrouding the rear and sides of the machine, and an apron hinged to the head cover for upward swinging movement to expose the underlying parts.

LAWRENCE MAWBEY.

Name Date Elliott Jan. 21, 1941 Number 

